The Norwegian government is establishing a new subsidy scheme for bait for fishing vessels that fish with longlines. The subsidy does not apply to the deep-sea fishing fleet.

"In the last five years, the cost of bait has almost doubled. To remedy the situation, a scheme with line subsidies will be established for 2025", says Minister of Fisheries and the Oceans Marianne Sivertsen Næss in a press release from the ministry.

The purpose of the scheme is to help alleviate the demanding liquidity situation for fishing vessels that fish with longlines and autolines, by reducing the cost burden resulting from extraordinary expenses for bait and line rental in 2025. Vessels that fish with longlines and autolines can apply for subsidies. There are no geographical restrictions on who can apply for subsidies. The subsidy scheme does not apply to conventional deep-sea fishing vessels. A ceiling of NOK 200,000 per vessel is set for subsidies.

Fiskebåt Nord is very concerned about reports that Russian vessels may have fished more than the cod quotas indicate. “We now have to find out what is right and what is wrong,” says Ivar Andreassen, chairman of Fiskebåt Nord.

The information that overfishing is taking place appears, among other things, in an article in The Barents Observer on November 28 this year. In the early 1990s, when the cod stock was much larger, there was a Russian overfishing.

Photo: courtesy Odd Kristian Dahle/Fiskebåt/FIS

"If the same thing happens now, the situation is very serious. Therefore, it is important to find out about this, and whether there is any truth to this information or not," says Andreassen.

Fiskebåt Nord has written a letter to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries requesting that the matter be followed up and investigated further. Among other things, there is information that Russian fish is being delivered from freezer boats to Dutch ports.

Ecuadorian police seized more than a ton of cocaine in the Guayas province, with its final destination being Vigo, Spain, as reported on December 24, 2024.

The operation, named "Poseidon LXIII", was carried out on Monday, December 23, in a port in Guayaquil. During a pre-shipment intrusive inspection of a container loaded with export products, the police discovered 23 black plastic packages containing 1,264 rectangular bundles of a compact white substance. Tests confirmed the substance was cocaine.

In total, 1,257.68 kilograms of cocaine were seized, equivalent to over 12.5 million doses.

The police stated that investigations are ongoing to identify those responsible for this criminal act.

Economic Impact of the Seizure

According to police estimates, this operation dealt a significant blow to criminal organizations, causing multimillion-dollar losses. If the cocaine had been sold:

• In Europe, it would have generated revenues exceeding $31.4 million.
• In the United States, its value would have surpassed $18.8 million.
• In Ecuador, its market price would have reached over $1.5 million.

Ecuador is ranked as the third country in the world with the highest amount of drug seizures, following Colombia and the United States. Over the past three years, authorities have confiscated nearly 200 tons of drugs annually. Between January 1 and December 18, 2024, alone, seizures surpassed 282 tons, solidifying Ecuador’s position as a key player in the global fight against drug trafficking.

The 2,000-ton scientific research vessel "Jia Hai Ke 7", constructed by Guangzhou Salvage Bureau Jiangmen Co., Ltd. for Zhuhai Jiahai Marine Technology Co., Ltd., was successfully launched. This vessel marks a significant milestone as China's first private scientific research ship equipped with a DP-2 dynamic positioning system.

Measuring 70.26 meters in length and 13.30 meters in beam, "Jia Hai Ke 7" features advanced electric propulsion technology, combining an electric motor with a rudder-propeller system. Its innovative design ensures flexible operation, low energy consumption, reduced noise levels, and high-precision positioning. Upon completion, the vessel will primarily support offshore marine geological surveys while also accommodating marine scientific investigations.

The construction process was closely monitored by surveyors from the Jiangmen Inspection Office of CCS Guangzhou Branch. The surveyors actively addressed technical challenges, assisted the shipyard in refining welding techniques, minimized assembly errors, and significantly shortened the project timeline, earning high praise from stakeholders.

Moving forward, the China Classification Society (CCS) will continue to strengthen partnerships with shipowners and shipyards, advance technical research, and maintain rigorous safety and quality standards to ensure the successful delivery and operational excellence of "Jia Hai Ke 7."

In November 2024, South Korea imported 512 tons of frozen ray, an 18% decrease compared to the 626 tons recorded in November 2023.

From January to November 2024, cumulative imports totaled 6,294 tons, reflecting a 4% decline from the 6,531 tons imported during the same period in the previous year. Frozen ray imports accounted for 0.8% of the nation’s total seafood imports of 814,815 tons.

Clicl on the image to enlarge

The primary source countries for frozen ray as of November 2024 included:

• United States: 3,103 tons (49%)
• Argentina: 1,417 tons (23%)
• Indonesia: 345 tons
• Brazil: 313 tons
• Spain: 299 tons

Unit import prices varied significantly among suppliers. Spain recorded the highest unit price at USD 5.47/kg, followed by Indonesia at USD 3.98/kg, the United States at USD 3.58/kg, and Papua New Guinea at USD 1.00/kg, which was the lowest.

The import value of frozen ray in November 2024 was USD 1.92 million, down 9% from USD 2.10 million in November 2023. However, the cumulative import value for the year reached USD 25.50 million, marking a 12% increase from USD 22.87 million during the same period in 2023. The average import unit price from January to November 2024 rose by 16%, reaching USD 4.05/kg compared to USD 3.50/kg in the previous year.

Source: Union Forsea Corp.

With over 20 years of experience in the sector, the executive leads the strategy and planning of the area in the company

ADM, a global leader in grain, feed, and human and animal nutrition, announces Raphael Bozola, former Cargill Inc. executive,  as Country Manager for Animal Nutrition in South America. The executive is based in São Paulo and is responsible for leading all strategy and planning aimed at supporting the needs of the Animal Nutrition industry and customers in the countries of the region.

The division is the leader in the Brazilian fish feed market, with a focus on the shrimp segment and a leading role in the sales of nutritional solutions for cattle, horses, pigs and poultry. In addition, the division's performance in the country is contributed to by the sale of Premix & Additives (a mixture of minerals, vitamins and amino acids) and pet food.

“I am very excited about starting this new phase of my career at ADM. I believe that combining my professional experience with ADM’s commitment to innovation and excellence will enable us to create even more effective and sustainable solutions for our customers and partners in the animal nutrition sector,” says Bozola.

With extensive experience in Finance, Controllership, HR and Marketing, before joining ADM he worked as Managing Director of Cargill's operations in Mexico. Raphael holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Unicamp and an MBA in Administration from USP. 

Sales are worth more than three times those of second-placed prawns

Salmon is the UK’s most popular fish, with the latest figures showing sales up 9.1% in a 12-month period from the middle of June 2023.

Sales of fresh salmon hit more than £1.2 billion in the period, accounting for over a quarter (28%) of all fish bought in the UK. Average price per kilo was £22.25, up by 2.2% from the preceding period.

Source: fishfarmingexpert l Read the full article here

NAIL Factory is recalling frozen catfish products because they were not eligible to be imported to the U.S. from Vietnam, according to the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The Huntington Beach, California, U.S.A.-based company is recalling around 1,635 pounds of ineligible frozen Siluriformes fish products that were produced by a company in Vietnam that is not eligible to export Siluriformes fish to the U.S, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said.

Author: Christine Blank / SeafoodSource l Read the full article here

With the merger of Blue Ocean Technology into Pelagia, technology and development expertise is now gathered in the new department Blue Ocean Solutions.

The company writes that this is an important step on the path towards delivering services ranging from collection and processing, to storage, logistics and better resource utilization of sludge.

"Pelagia Blue Ocean Solutions will be a strong professional environment where we can build on shared expertise and technology. This gives us a better foundation for developing more efficient and profitable solutions, tailored to customer needs along the entire value chain", says Pelagia CEO, Egil Magne Haugstad.

"By gathering resources and expertise in one place, we increase our ability to create new solutions and improve existing offerings. – The goal is to expand our involvement so that we increasingly become part of the entire value chain", says Knut Antonsen, head of Blue Ocean Solutions.

Pelagia's focus in this area, reinforced through the acquisition of Blue Ocean, has been very well received by the industry. - It is clear that the market wants a larger player that can deliver more comprehensive solutions. - We notice this both through increased demand and new types of requests, which confirms that we are now considered a preferred partner, concludes Antonsen.

In the first eleven months of 2024, the Primorsky Territorial Administration of the Federal Agency for Fishery played a key role in ensuring compliance with regulations to combat and prevent IUU (illegal, unreported, and unregulated) fishing for exports to China.

As part of this effort, 4,285 IUU certificates were issued, verifying the legal origin of aquatic bioresources.

From January to November, more than 474,000 tons of fish and seafood products were monitored and exported from Primorsky Krai to China. The breakdown of key exports includes:

• Pollock: 1,996 certificates issued, accounting for 344,590 tons.
• Herring: 247 certificates issued, totaling 69,129 tons.
• Crabs: 1,580 certificates issued, amounting to 34,765 tons.
• Pacific Salmon (pink, chum, sockeye): 287 certificates issued, equaling 24,469 tons.

Additional Information:

Only specific species are subject to IUU certification under agreements between the Russian Federation and importing countries, including China. These species include:

• Fish: All types of Pacific salmon, pollock, sea bass, arrowtooth, Pacific halibut, and black halibut.
• Shellfish and Other Species: Pacific herring, eight crab varieties, anadara, corbicula, sea cucumber (trepang), thornback, and sea urchin.
• Products derived from these resources are also subject to inspection for legal origin certification when exported to China.

Source: Federal Agency for Fisheries